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7.4 Suretyship^51
In the above two documents, members of the debtor’s family and/or
his landed property could be seized as security, if the debtor died
or absented himself. The term used is “surety” (qàtàtu/“u.du 8 .a).^52
There are four documents that describe surety transactions proper,
using the expression “A became surety (lit., entered as surety, ana
qàtàti erèbu) to B on behalf of C.” In AT 82 and AT 83, the surety
(A) is constituted by three or five (the text is not consistent) and
three people, respectively. On the other hand, no reference is made
(or preserved; note that the end of AT 84 and AT 85 is broken off)
to the obligation that lies behind the contract, that is, between debtor
(C) and creditor (B).8.Crime and Delict
8.1 Theft
Several provisions concerning theft are dealt with in the treaty between
Niqmepa and Irteshub. Despite the international character of the
text (note, e.g., the stipulation “If a thief (“arràqu) from your coun-
try commits theft (vb. “aràqu) in my country,” in ll. 47f.), cases and
penalties involved must reflect the rules and practice at Alalakh. The
above-mentioned provision refers to the seizure of thieves and impris-
onment; one administrative text (AT 228) also records the arrest of
several sùtupeople accused of theft (ana “arraqùti).
The same treaty regards as thieves the mayor and the five elders
who take a false oath and keep a runaway slave in their town. Two
penalties are imposed: cutting offthe hands and a fine of six thou-
sand shekels of copper to be paid to the palace. Of course, we do
not know whether that was the general treatment of thieves; the fact
that it is expressly described only for this provision might actually
suggest the contrary.
People who could not prove their legal ownership of claimed prop-
erty and who refused to take an oath were also regarded as thieves.
And the same holds for people who would sell state booty abroad.
In this case, the treaty provides for the arrest and extradition of
the offender and no information is given as to the corresponding
punishment.(^51) See Hoftijzer and van Soldt, “Texts from Ugarit.. .,” 202ff.
(^52) Cf. also the administrative debt note (AT 344) and a broken reference in the
sale document AT 70.
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